Sunday, November 26, 2017

Miazga, Green ring Sunday bells

A pair of US internationals working overseas lit the lamp in victories on Sunday, with Matt Miazga heroically crashing home Vitesse's 87th minute winner against ADO Den Haag.

Across the border in Germany's second flight, we had ahappy Julian Green sighting. Back in the line-up after recovering from a muscle injury that kept him out for over a month, the youngster did some nifty work to add the capper on a 4-0 rout of St. Pauli for his first goal since February. His scoring play starts at the 3:37 mark.

I think the most impressive thing about the Green goal is the little touch pass he makes. And yes, he definitely looks 10 pounds heavier and an inch or two. Hopefully this is the start of a good run of form for him.

Absolutely agreed on miazga, of course. Should have started the last 4 qualifiers and every match at the gold cup. Oh well. U.S. managers will stop being afraid of new (American) players some day.

I mean, I get Arena wanting to reward players and have experience, but if we started Miazga and McKennie, we destroy Trinidad.

Bear in mind, though, that Trinidad were playing young players trying to prove themselves, and that second shot, you really can't prepare for. If we'd started Bill Hamid as well, he would have gotten it, cuz Bill Hamid is Angry Superman, and or maybe a really athletic Luke Cage, depending on what kind of bullet proof you prefer. Bill isn't human, ask any DC United fan, we continue to be amazed almost every third game. And now he's in Europe, so I'm expecting him to be a big deal before he retires, he's got the talent AND the mentality.

But, yeah, I can forgive Bruce for trusting Omar, more than I can forgive Omar for that donkey touch, which could have beaten anyone.

If I am being honest I would say I was fine with Guzan getting a start. He looked good after he joined ATL, but yeah I won't disagree with Hamid's extra range. Forgetting any particular play (not that you are wrong about the play in question) but Miazga just plain old looks more reliable and talented than Omar when you watch them.

I don't blame Omar for being what he is, but I do blame Bruce for relying on him (amongst others) again and again.

Guzan wouldn't have helped against those shots. He's basically great at saving PK's, and subpar at everything else. I mean, he COULD win MLS Cup with Atlanta one day, but they're unlikely to win BECAUSE of him. Unless he saves like seven PK's for Atlanta in the second half, or something crazy.

Hamid is a FAR better shot stopper. He's unreal. Horvath is good, too, but that gaffe against Portugal says he might not be quite seasoned enough, yet.

And JK part deuce seems like a solid professional. Honestly, we needed to just make Hamid the starting GK this cycle, he had long ago eclipsed Howard as the most talented one.

Hindsight is 20/20. At the start of the cycle, howard and guzan were both premier league starters. Hamid needed to go to europe sooner, MLS needs different rules that make it easier for teams to sell. Hamid was right in hindsight but at the time it seemed like howard/guzan MLS edition would be fine

Hamid wasn't the proper choice then, or now. He has always had the talent, and seems to have the right competitive mindset, but the consistency just isn't there. Horvath should have been the starter since he broke into the starting lineup in Belgium. He only finally got a start (in a friendly!) after his club form had already dropped, and his coach had publicly called him out. If we are picking a starter for a game today, Steffen is the choice. I don't know why people keep saying Guzan has looked good in ATL. He makes at least 1 questionable decision per game. His inability to properly judge when/when not to come out for a cross is mind-blowing for a player with his level of experience. He is essentially an older Hamid- incredible reaction saves, but the rest of his game is lacking.

Who is NSC?

NSC is run by Greg Seltzer (MLSsoccer.com), who has reported on soccer across the globe since 2001, covering MLS, MLS Cup, U.S. Men, Women & Youth national teams, World Cup, Gold Cup, U-20 World Cup, the UEFA European Championship, UEFA Champions League and Europa League, UEFA Cup, CONCACAF and UEFA qualifiers, Premiership, Bundesliga, Eredivisie, various second-tier leagues, domestic cups and international friendlies.